Black Coffee
by cdawn1022
Summary: When JD starts working morning shifts at the cafe, a regular he'd never met quickly becomes his favorite customer.


Coffeeshop AUs are still cool, right?

Fluffy dorks in love. Cross-posted on AO3. Thanks for reading!

* * *

"Black coffee, biggest size you have. Make it strong."

JD blinked at the man on the other side of the counter. "Uh, what?" he stammered.

"Large black coffee?" the man repeated slowly, eyes narrowing. "Are you new or something?"

"No, no. Just didn't quite hear you," JD said, cheeks reddening. "No cream or sugar or anything?"

The man stared at JD blankly. "That's generally what people mean when they say 'black coffee', Newbie."

JD bit his lip, reaching for the small cafe's collection of mugs. "I've, uh, worked here for two years, actually. Is that for here, or…"

"To go," the man said curtly. "I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"Right," JD said, disappointed, as he grabbed a disposable cup and a Sharpie instead. "I'll have it out in a minute. What's your name?"

The man paused, as if he couldn't quite remember. "Perry," he finally said.

JD nodded, writing the name in large cursive. "Nice name," he commented, looking up hopefully.

"Yeah," Perry said, voice flat. "Can I just get my coffee?"

"Two dollars," JD informed Perry, lowering his eyes to the cash register.

As soon as the two crisp bills Perry handed over were in the drawer and the receipt was in Perry's hand, JD took the only logical action: hiding in the back hallway leading to the employee rooms while Turk made the coffee. Perry looked a little surprised at the change in personnel (at least from JD's view through the cracked door), but he didn't comment on it.

"Dude," Turk's voice suddenly chuckled from outside the door. "What the hell was that?"

"Get in here," JD hissed, pulling Turk into the hall. "Was that not the most gorgeous man you've ever seen?"

Turk raised his eyebrows, glancing in the general direction of the counter. "Uh, I don't know? He's been in here before. I see him a lot during my shifts."

"And his _voice_ ," JD said dreamily, as if Turk hadn't spoken. "Come on, you have to admit he's hot."

Turk snorted. "Okay, he's hot. If you say so. But hot girls come in here all the time and you don't see _me_ losing my cool."

JD rolled his eyes, leaning against the door. "Well, we can't all be secretly dating our managers."

"It's fine," Turk insisted. "But that reminds me, can you cover my shift tomorrow morning? Me and Carla's schedules are so crazy, that's the only time we can meet up."

"That's my day off," JD complained. "I already covered the first half of your shift _this_ morning. Ask someone else."

"No one else will do it. Please?"

JD sighed. "Fine. But you owe me big. _Big_."

Turk grinned. "You're the best. And hey, maybe your hot guy will come in again and you can keep making a fool of yourself."

"If _Perry_ comes in again, I will be calm and collected," JD said firmly. "He's probably married or something, anyway. What is he, forty?"

Turk shrugged. "I don't know. We should get back, though. Carla -"

As if on cue, Carla yanked the door open, leaving JD to fall backwards. "Has Bambi recovered yet? Break's over, guys."

"You saw, too?" JD muttered, rubbing the spot on his leg where he'd landed. "It would be nice if no one ever mentioned it."

"Sure thing, Bambi," Carla said, amused. "But you know, I went out with him once."

Turk's head whipped around to face Carla. " _You_ went _out_ with _him_?"

Carla patted Turk's arm. "It was a long time ago. And he was only _kind of_ a really good kisser," she teased.

JD slipped out of the hall, not really caring to hear the bickering. He scanned the cafe for Perry, but of course he was long gone.

* * *

JD yawned as he stared longingly at the chairs in the seating area, wishing he could sit down. He'd only been on his feet for an hour, but he felt like he could barely stand. He wasn't used to Turk's morning shifts. He jumped when the customer in front of him cleared his throat.

"Newbie," Perry said in greeting. "Large black coffee to go."

JD grinned, pleased at being remembered. He suddenly felt much more awake. "Sure thing. I'll make it myself. There's hardly anyone here this early."

Perry glanced around, noting the two customers in the cafe. "Yeah. Guess not."

"It's gonna get worse, too," JD continued conversationally as he turned on the coffeemaker. "They're building that Starbucks down the street."

"I've seen it," Perry said, eyeing JD and his cheerfulness. "They pop up everywhere."

JD leaned on the counter, unable to hide a small smile. "Yeah, our manager's pretty worried about it. And the owner."

"Well, you seem pretty concerned," Perry remarked, arching an eyebrow.

"Oh." JD blushed. "I, uh... I'm just in a good mood, I guess."

Perry nodded, glancing past JD to the coffee machine.

"Where do you work?" JD blurted, interrupting Perry, who had opened his mouth to speak. "I mean, it's not even six in the morning."

"Sacred Heart Hospital," Perry answered neutrally.

JD grinned. "That's so cool!" he said enthusiastically. "I'm trying to save up for med school, working here."

Perry resigned himself to waiting a lifetime for his coffee. "Got slapped with a few weeks of these early shifts," he added. "Had an argument with the boss."

JD nodded quickly, making a mental note to trade more shifts with Turk. "You must be tired. Good thing you can come in here to get coffee from me. I mean, us."

Perry's eyes narrowed just slightly at JD's misstep. "Yeah. Good thing," he said slowly.

JD thanked his lucky stars that the beeping coffee machine gave him an opportunity to hide his blush. He poured the coffee silently, kicking himself for his awkwardness.

"You don't usually work this shift," Perry said after a few moments.

JD's arm froze as he reached for a lid. "No. Not usually."

Perry didn't comment as JD finished putting together the coffee, and he traded his two dollars for it in silence.

"Too bad," he finally remarked.

JD's head snapped up, forgetting the cash register. "What?"

"You don't usually work this shift," Perry said, expression unreadable. "It's too bad."

JD's mouth opened and closed twice. "O-okay," he managed. He awkwardly stuck his arm out to Perry, holding his receipt.

He thought he caught a hint of a smile on Perry's face as he took the receipt and turned around to leave, but he couldn't be sure.

* * *

JD smiled widely as Perry walked into the cafe. It had been two weeks since he started working Turk's morning shifts, and it wasn't too difficult to get accustomed to waking up early when he knew he had Perry waiting for him.

"Hey, Perry," he said cheerfully. "The usual?"

"Newbie," Perry answered with a nod. JD had seen Perry look at his name tag, but he never stopped using the nickname. "I've got… a little time today. I'll take it for here."

JD blinked in surprise. "Oh. Okay, great. You can sit down."

Perry flashed one of the barely-there smiles JD had come to appreciate. "Don't you want me to pay for it?"

"Right," JD said quickly. "Two dollars."

Perry handed over the bills and slid the receipt into his pocket, watching JD with a fondness he only let show when JD was otherwise engaged. He chose a seat that wasn't _too_ close to the counter, but gave him a clear view of the person behind it.

JD hummed to himself as he poured the coffee, totally unaware of Perry's gaze. He smiled while he carried it over to the table and set it down.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" JD asked after a moment. "I'm supposed to ask that. I keep forgetting to ask you."

Perry shook his head. "No, I'm good. Thanks."

JD nodded and glanced at the empty chair across from Perry. The cafe was empty besides the two of them.

"Oh, just sit," Perry said, rolling his eyes. "I won't report you."

JD bit back a laugh as he took a seat. "That's, uh, good to hear." He did his best not to stare at Perry, no matter how much he wanted to.

"Been pretty empty recently?" Perry asked lamely after a few moments of silence. "That Starbucks finally opened."

JD shrugged, playing nervously with the container of sugar packets on the table. "Yeah. People like the chain stuff, I guess."

Perry nodded and took a sip of his coffee. "I gotta say," he remarked, "the coffee here's better."

"You think?" JD asked, perking up.

"Obviously," Perry said, amused. "Why else would I come in here every day?"

JD bit his lip and focused on not looking disappointed. "Why are you still here?" he asked, trying to change the subject. "Not - not that I don't want you to be here. You just usually… aren't."

Perry blinked and JD swore he saw the hint of a blush cross his face. "I'm not working today," he admitted.

"So you came here for a cup of coffee at six in the morning on your day off?"

"Yes."

JD stared at Perry, utterly mystified. "Oookay."

Perry's expression hardened slightly. "Is that a problem?"

"No!" JD said quickly. "It's not a problem. It's totally fine. I just didn't think the coffee was _that_ good. We don't do anything special with it. And you - you just get plain black coffee. Not even any cream or sugar. And even the cream and sugar isn't special, either. I'll have to tell our manager, Carla - oh, she said she knew you! I forgot about that. But, uh, it's nice you like the coffee."

Perry's let out a chuckle. "You sure you haven't had too much yourself?"

"Maybe," JD muttered, sinking into his seat.

"I just woke up and wanted coffee," Perry said with a shrug. "Simple as that."

JD played with a string on his apron, trying to stay calm. "It's just that simple?"

Perry stared at JD, and he almost looked nervous. "Why wouldn't it be?" he asked.

"I was just… a little disappointed when you ordered your coffee for here," JD said, as nonchalantly as he could manage.

"You didn't want me to stay?" Perry snorted. "Thanks."

"No, I do want you," JD insisted. "To stay," he added quickly.

Perry took a sip of coffee and raised his eyebrows, urging JD to continue.

JD took a breath as he watched Perry's fingers on the handle. "It's just that I was planning on writing my number on your cup… but I think they'd get mad if I tried to do that to one of the mugs."

Perry coughed and set the cup down. "Well, I -" he started, but his pager cut him off.

"Shit," he muttered. "On my day off… I'll be back, okay?"

JD watched confusedly as Perry left, seeming to disappear in a split second.

After half an hour, he dumped the coffee out. After another hour, he stopped watching the door. Four hours after that, Elliot came to relieve him, and he went home.

* * *

That day had been JD's last morning shift - Turk refused to switch with him any longer.

He comforted himself with the knowledge that his usual afternoon shift would most likely be uneventful, and lacking in Perry. He hadn't come back after being paged, and he could have asked one of the other employees for JD's number after he left. Even if they refused to give it out, JD was good friends with all of them - they would have texted immediately. Perry was clearly not interested, and JD figured he was already becoming a regular at the new Starbucks.

JD spent a little too much time tying his apron when he arrived to work. He brushed off a "chop chop, Bambi" from Carla, who backed down when she saw his face. He took a deep breath, trying to gear himself up for the customers, and stepped out of the hallway.

There were four people in the cafe, and all of them had been served by Elliot. JD slumped against the wall. He usually loved when it was empty like this, to be alone with his thoughts, but all he wanted was a distraction.

He sighed and grabbed a rag, intending to wipe down tables he was sure were already spotless. He paid little attention to the customers, and they never asked for anything. JD was very nearly in a satisfyingly irrelevant daydream when a patch of white caught his eye on the table where he'd sat with Perry. As he got closer, he realized the small box of sugar packets was protecting a small stack of paper. They turned out to be cafe receipts. And it wasn't just trash left by careless customers.

JD counted them twice - thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. Fifteen receipts, all black coffee. All to-go cups except the last one. And that last one included a handwritten phone number.

Giving no thought to the customers or to Carla, JD yanked his phone from his pocket and dialed the number as fast as he possibly could. He began to pace behind the counter as the phone rang, and just before he was sure it was about to go to voicemail, the other end picked up.

"Perry Cox," the voice said flatly.

JD's face broke into a smile. "So _Cox_ is your last name?"

A pause. "Newbie?"

"Thanks for the number," JD said fondly. "Least you could do after ditching me."

"I didn't mean to," Perry said, uncharacteristically anxious. "I got held up at work, and I tried to ask the Barbie doll at the counter about you, but she wouldn't give me anything."

JD laughed as he leaned back on the counter, not wanting the (admittedly indifferent) customers to see his face. "Her name is Elliot. She's one of my best friends."

Perry huffed, and JD could almost hear him rolling his eyes. "Yeah. Okay."

JD paused, taking in the fact that he was actually speaking to Perry. "I can't believe you kept all the receipts. Every single day."

"Yeah, well…" Perry trailed off. "Guess they came in handy."

"So where are you?" JD asked. "Isn't this the part where you come and sweep me off my feet?"

"If that's what you want," Perry answered. The voice sounded way too close.

JD turned around slowly and let his cell phone snap shut. Perry walked from the front door to the counter, a man on a mission, and JD was sure his heart was about to break his ribs.

When Perry's lips crashed against his, JD couldn't help but sigh - it was so much better than he'd imagined, miles better, _lightyears_ better - and as he wrapped his arms around Perry's neck, he very nearly forgot where he was.

"Okay, okay," JD said breathlessly, pulling back slightly. "I'm at work. There's people here."

Perry chuckled, and JD was sure he'd never heard anything so beautiful. "I thought you wanted to be swept off your feet."

JD ran his hands slowly down Perry's arms. "Well, it worked. You should do it again sometime."

"I plan to," Perry assured him. "I'm taking you out. Anywhere you want."

"I don't care," JD said, giving Perry a blinding smile. "As long as it's not a coffee shop."


End file.
